This is a bonus cache for the "Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park" Adventure Lab. The cache is not at the given coordinates; instead, you must calculate the coordinates using information from the journal of each location in the Adventure Lab. You can use the link above or use this QR code to get you there:
Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park
Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Park is open to bikers, walkers and runners.
The park is set in 250Ha of regenerating bush and features Mākara Peak (412m), near 360 deg views, 40km of single track and a 72m suspension bridge. Prior to opening in 1999, the park was a gorse and goat infested farm; since then, thousands of volunteer hours have been spent every year on pest control, tree planting and track building. There are now fantastic stands of native trees and loads of bird life.
The main car park on South Karori Rd is the starting point for most park users. Facilities here include toilets, shower, drinking water, tools and bike pump, picnic tables, power for charging e-bikes, and an undercover information board with detailed maps for trip planning. There are also bike washing facilities for the end of the ride. From here there is one uphill track heading up into the park ("Koru"), and four downhill tracks (of varying levels of difficulty) that bring you back.
There are other entrances at St Albans Ave, Allington Road and Makara Road opposite the Skyline Walkway. There is a 4WD track that ascends the park: you can access it from the end of St Albans Ave or Allington Road (note there is no public vehicle access).
You can get to the park by car (there is parking available) or by public transport (route 2 will get you to within a kilometre). Of course you can also walk or bike.
Mākara Peak as a scenic reserve and conservation area
[Source: Mākara Peak website]
Mākara Peak is a scenic reserve and an important part of Wellington's outer green belt. Mākara Peak is classified as a Key Native Ecosystem and is Wellington’s first Ministry for Primary Industries certified ‘carbon sink’ (a forest set aside for atmospheric carbon dioxide absorption). Close to Zealandia sanctuary and Otari-Wilton’s Bush, the park provides a safe corridor between reserves as well as an important habitat for native birds and other wildlife.
A main goal of the Mākara Peak Mountain Bike Supporters (a voluntary organisation that looks after the park) is to restore the park to a healthy, thriving native forest full of native animals. Supporters are assisting this in a variety of ways including pest animal and plant control, protecting and reintroducing rare native plant species and planting thousands of seedlings.
- Tree planting: the Supporters plant one tree for every metre of new track to offset the impact of bush clearance for track building. With over 35km of hand-built tracks, tens of thousands of trees have been planted since 1998.
- Karori Stream: Before 1999 the section of Karori Stream and surrounding land from the main car park south was a weed-infested grassland. With the help of grants and thousands of volunteer hours, weeds were cleared and the area was planted out. Follow-up work continues.
- Goat control: In 2000 the Supporters built two fenced areas to exclude goats, pigs and feral livestock. These areas protect a range of planted tree species so they can mature and provide a source of seed for dispersal throughout the park.
- Fire protection: Fires were once common in the hills around Karori. To protect the area as the forest regenerates, the Supporters have been clearing gorse and barberry along the park boundaries and replanting with fire-resistant native trees since 2000.
- Plant diversity: to restore diversity, the Supporters plant inmportant and missing plant species such as kahikatea, miro, matai, rimu, northern rata, tawa, kohekohe and kamahi. These will live for hundreds of years and become important food sources and habitat for native birds, reptiles, insects and bats.
- Pest control: the Supporters have set up and continue to maintain a large network of poison bait stations and traps across the park to control possumns, rates, stoats and weasels. There are over 20 dedicated volunteers who regularly check traps and bait stations.
Mākara Peak as a mountain bike park
Mākara Peak has something for riders of all ages and abilities: high speed machine built flow trails; wide, children and beginner friendly undulating trails; and some of the steepest and gnarliest technical downhill.
A lot of effort has been made to ensure that trails are built to a consistent standard, in a sustainable manner and in a way that compliments the natural environment.
Due to the rocky nature of the hillside, and quality of construction, the trails tend to hold up well in wet weather, albeit offering a more difficult challenge than in the dry.
The southern part of the park (including Missing Link, Leaping Lizard and Nikau Valley) has older hand-build trails which are narrowier, rockier and have more natural challenges and obstacles.
Adventure Lab and Bonus route
The Adventure Lab and this bonus are designed to be completed in a loop from the main car park to the summit and back. If you are walking allow at least 3 hours for the full loop; the distance is more than 10km.
To complete the Adventure Lab you need :
Route on the way up...
Complete the Adventure Lab on the way up. I recommend you follow these trails: Koru to Sally Alley to Three Brothers (part 1) to Upswing to Arathi (to the summit).
The ascent is about 7km total with a consistent climb to 412m, an overall elevation gain of about 270m.
Bikes aren't usually a problem for pedestrians, but if you wish to avoid mountain bike trails, all except one Adventure Lab location can be accessed via Snake Charmer (the name they've given the 4WD track). This route is shorter but steeper.
Route on the way down...
Calculate the coordinates of this bonus after you have completed the Adventure Lab at the summit (using the instructions below) then find it on the way back down to the start. The route back down will be shorter than the way up, depending on which way you go.
Walking:
If you are walking, I recommend you return via Snake Charmer (the 4WD track) to either St Albans Ave (and return to the start on the road), or to Lazy Fern, a Green "easy" (Grade 2) downhill mountain bike track. I do not recommend you walk on the Blue or Black "intermediate" downhill trails or above (Grade 3+) – bikes could be going too fast.
Running or mountain biking:
if you are running or mountain biking feel free to use any downhill trail you are competent to use. There are no green beginner trails (Grades 1 and 2) in the top half of the park, but you can use the 4WD track. The light blue intermediate trails (Grade 3) will have steep sections, and the dark blue advanced (Grade 4) trails will be consistently steep with high drop offs and jumps. And don't even think about biking the black or red trails unless you know what you are doing. See the park's website Park Maps and Signs page for information on grades and maps.
Phone coverage and weather conditions
Phone coverage: All but one Adventure Lab location has good phone coverage. You may have problems at the fourth location, the Suspension Bridge, depending on your provider. To help out here, the geofence boundary is set big enough you should be able to unlock the question from both the previous and following locations. But you will still need to visit the location to get the answer. Once you have unlocked the question it remains unlocked – you can return to it later when you are outside the geofence and you will still be able to enter the required answer.
Weather: the bottom part of the route is in the bush and is sheltered from the weather, but the top half is exposed. Luckily it is largely sheltered from the prevailing north westerlies, but it catches southerlies in a bad way. The summit can often be in the cloud. Take appropriate gear.
Cache coordinates
When you complete each location in the Adventure Lab, you will be given a number in that location's journal. Use these numbers to calculate the coordinates.
The geocache is at S41° 17.xxx E174° 42.yyy, where:
- xxx = (get started) + (practice) - (route decision) + (cross) - (catch your breath)
- yyy = (get started) - (practice) + (route decision) - (cross) + (catch your breath)
If your number is >1000 then take the last three digits. If it is <100 then pad it out with zeroes on the left.
Further information
- See Park Maps and Signs for information on grades and maps
- See Park trails for information on the more popular trails in the park
- See Trailforks a popular source for the latest information and updates on the trails.